The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum has a digital library containing thousands of photographs of plants and animals. The digital library is an interactive site that has a kidâs page with videos, animal sounds, and games.
The photo is courtesy of: http://members.multimania.nl/onager/ballista.htmlMangonelThe Mangonel is what many people think of when they think of a catapult. From the Latin word manganon meaning engine of war. The Mangonel was invented by the Romans in 400 BC. The Mangonel consists of a long wood arm with a bucket (early models used a sling) with a rope attached to the end. The arm is then pulled back (from natural 90o angle) then energy was stored in the tension of the rope and the arm. Then the bucket would be loaded.
A catapult is a generic term for a machine that hurls an object. The earliest writings of catapults were that they originated in China around the 3rd and 4th Century BC and this type of catapult was much like a big crossbow. One type of catapult, the Mangonel could launch missiles across long distances. Mangonels fired heavy projectiles from a bowl-shaped bucket at the end of its arm. The Mangonel was used for aiming various missiles at castles, fortresses and cities. This type of catapult was easy to construct and wheels were added to the design to ensure maneuverability. The Mangonels were capable of firing projectiles up to 1,300 feet. Attackers used projectiles which would cause as much distress and discomfort inside the castle walls.